News, notes and analysis from the Roughnecks 11-10 win over the Knighthawks.

| Published: 2/22/2014 at 9:53:58 PM

This statline best exemplified the night that Mike Poulin had. On the first eight shots he faced, he allowed four goals. On the final 41 shots he faced, he allowed six goals.

“It was a tale of two games, I guess you could call it,” Poulin said.

The start left much to be desired, but if anyone else was in net beside Poulin for the final 50 minutes, the Roughnecks wouldn’t have been able to come back and win 11-10 over the Rochester Knighthawks.

“He put us on his back tonight,” said Dane Dobbie. “He made some big saves in the middle of the game. In the second and fourth quarters he stood on his head. He didn’t allow a goal until late in the fourth.

“He’s a character guy and we rely on him a lot.”

After he allowed those first four goals, Poulin was given the yank in favour of Frankie Scigliano. It lasted a grand total of about 30 seconds, giving Poulin a quick breather before he was put back between the pipes.

It’s a tactic Roughnecks head coach Curt Malawsky has used in the past, and it worked perfectly this time around.

Poulin said the pull was a kick in the pants for the entire Roughnecks defence.

“I thought I was playing fine, but I thought it gave everyone an opportunity, including myself, that we have to better. They are a good team and we can’t have a slow start ruin our night.”

While he was the won making the saves, Poulin was quick to credit the defence around him as well.

“Our defence was incredible tonight,” he said. “I don’t know how many turnovers or 30 second clocks they forced but it makes my job a lot easier and gives the offense a lot of confidence. You have to give them a pat on the back.”

QUICKSTICKS
Rookie defenceman Garrett McIntosh finally scored his first career NLL goal in his 8th career game. Eight games isn’t that long for a defenceman to break the goose-egg. However, McIntosh came so close in his first game, knocking one off the post on a diving shot, that seven more games must have felt like an eternity.

For the third straight game, the entire Roughnecks team deserves credit for their discipline. They only took one penalty all night, and killed it off as well. With the man advantage, the Roughnecks scored three goals on three chances.

Calgary came back from a 5-1 deficit in the first quarter, and a 9-6 in the fourth quarter. They deserved this win.

THREE STARS
3. Curtis Dickson: His statline only shows two goals and two assists, but both of his markers came in the 4th quarter. Clutch, clutch player.

2. Mike Poulin: Six goals allowed in the final 50 minutes. The Poulin Wall was standing tall.

1. Dane Dobbie: Dickson may have helped get in the Roughnecks comeback, but it was Dobbie’s goal that completed it.